Dear friends, I have been AWOL and aware of it. Life at Burg Central has been extremely busy, what with D and I having to celebrate our birthdays in the same week as Christmas – mine involved going out for dinner and unwrapping a lovely … hard-drive,...

I finished the second draft of my novel on Monday night. This was a complete rewrite of the first draft, and took six months to complete. (The first draft took 15 months.) When I finished, I felt scattered, unsure, anxious. I was prepared to dive in...

According to a report from the BBC, South African president Jacob Zuma announced today, World AIDS Day, that his government would provide all HIV-positive babies under the age of one with antiretrovirals. He also promised that the drugs would become...

I am having to cancel our family’s attendance at a Thanksgiving dinner tonight since three out of five are ill, but I am still grateful. Mourning the pumpkin spice cake, but grateful. Like Litlove, today I am grateful for books. What reason do you...

One of the joys of blogging is being able to connect with writers all over the world, right here from The Dorf, Germany. One writer whom I “met” early in my blogging days was New Yorker Nova Ren Suma, who blogs at Distraction No. 99. Nova has inspired...